SANFORD, Maine – The city’s efforts to revitalize its historic factory site recently received a $5.5 million boost through two newly awarded grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The money, called brownfield grants, will be used to conduct several phases of assessment at 22 sites at the plant in downtown Sanford. Efforts will specifically focus on the 7.2 hectare International Woolen Mill site, the 9.5 hectare Emery Mill site and the 3.53 hectare Wasco Mill site.
In addition, the funds will be used to prepare approximately four cleanup plans and engage the community in the mill redevelopment process.
The EPA’s Brownfields Program provides grants and technical assistance to communities, states, tribes and others to assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse contaminated properties. The program aims to empower communities to address environmental challenges and promote economic redevelopment.
The city hopes these brownfields-related measures will provide developers with important information about pollution and cleanup requirements and spur the “growth of new businesses, employment and improved housing opportunities,” according to a news release.
One of the EPA awards Sanford is expected to receive is a $5 million Brownfields Cleanup Grant funded by the federal bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The other is a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant that will allow the city to focus on cleaning up the International Woolen Mill Boiler House on Pioneer Avenue. The site functioned as a boiler house with coal-fired boilers that had been converted to fuel oil in the 1920s.
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According to the city, the location is currently contaminated with many hazardous substances. The site cleanup is expected to eliminate environmental hazards and make way for a 60-space parking lot.
The city has been working to revitalize the factory site for years and sees this task as an important part of boosting local commercial and cultural prospects.
In 2014, the Sanford Mill reopened as an apartment building with commercial space on the bottom floor at the corner of Washington Street and Pioneer Avenue. In recent decades, the mill was an empty eyesore.
The city also built a new road connecting Emery Street and High Street several years ago to help provide access and frontage when the mills are redeveloped.
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The last Stenton Trust Mills on River Street – its twin was destroyed by a historic fire in 2017 – is also earmarked for redevelopment with apartments and commercial spaces.
In a news release, City Manager Steven Buck thanked the EPA’s regional brownfields team for the two latest grants. The awards, he said, will allow the city to “address our industrial past so that new developments can move us forward, without the environmental liabilities that impact our economic future.”
“We must recognize the significant investments made through public and private development, made possible by the assessments conducted and action plans developed through these EPA-funded programs,” Buck said. “It is one of the biggest economic levers achieved compared to any other program. within our city.”
This article originally appeared in the Portsmouth Herald: Sanford Mills gets $5.5 million EPA boost to fuel redevelopment
